The Future of Socialism in England

Abstract

The words 'in England' in the title of this article are intended to denote two things: the first is that it cannot now be taken for granted that what will happen in the English part of the British Isles will also happen in its other parts, and notably in Scotland, with Northern Ireland being a question of an altogether different kind. The future of socialism in England obviously concerns the other parts of the British Isles; but that future does not necessarily and automatically encompass these other parts. This is only to note that we are only at the beginning of a very large process of change in the constitutional organisation of the United Kingdom. This may result in no more than extensive devolution; or it may take a federalist form; or it may result in actual independent statehood for, say Scotland. If enough people in Scotland want independence badly enough, there will be nothing to stop them getting it, nor ought there to be. Socialists in England do not have to support Scottish independence: but they cannot, as socialists, resist a genuine popular demand for it.